| Previous Section | Back to Table of Contents | Lords Hansard Home Page |
Written Answers
Tuesday, 16th April 2002.
London Courts: Witness Support Service
Lord Beaumont of Whitley asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What is the figure for the number (total and percentage) of the London magistrates' courts and London youth courts in which a witness support service is operating.[HL3532]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Rooker): The witness service is run by the independent charitable organisation Victim Support, which receives grant aid from the Home Office for this purpose.
Victim Support advises that at the end of March 2002 witness support services had been established in 36 (90 per cent) of the 40 London courts. It further advises that the remaining courts should have a service within a matter of weeks.
Rifles and Shotguns
Lord Brougham and Vaux asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What is their advice regarding the use of shotguns and rifles near (a) public highways and byways; (b) areas subject to provisions of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000; and (c) populated areas.[HL3637]
Lord Rooker: It is the responsibility of any person using a rifle or shotgun to ensure that any shots are made safely. Before starting to shoot they should be aware of all footpaths, bridleways and rights of way and ensure that the angles of fire are safe.
It is not a specific offence to shoot across a public right of way. But doing so could amount to a common law nuisance; wilful obstruction of the highway under the Highways Act 1980, Section 137; or intimidation under the Highways Act, Section 130, if any person is threatened in any way.
Under Section 161 of the Highways Act 1980, it is an offence for any person, without lawful authority or excuse, to discharge any firearm within 50 feet of the centre of any highway which comprises a carriageway if, in consequence, any user is injured, interrupted or endangered. This applies to rights of way where there are vehicular rights only.
Under the Local Government Act 1972, Schedule 14, paragraphs 23 and 26, it is an offence to discharge a firearm in any street.
When it comes into force, the new right of access to open country and registered common land under Part 1 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act may be subject to exclusions or restrictions. An owner or agricultural tenant will have discretion to close or
restrict access for up to 28 days each year and applications may be made for further closures or restrictions in the interests of land management and safety, for example, where it is proposed to shoot over land.If the police have reason to believe that a shooter represents a danger to public safety they can revoke the holder's certificate.
Young Offenders on Bail
Lord Harris of Haringey asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What measures are being taken to prevent young offenders on bail offending further.[HL3800]
Lord Rooker: We have today made an order which will bring into force Section 130 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 across England and Wales. It will do so on 22 April 2002 in the 10 street-crime initiative areas—London, Manchester, West Midlands, Merseyside, Thames Valley, Lancashire, Avon & Somerset, Nottinghamshire, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire—and on 16 September 2002 in the rest of the country.
This section will give new powers to the courts to remand a 12 to 16 year-old into secure detention where they are of the view that the child or young person has a recent history of repeatedly committing imprisonable offences while on bail or in local authority accommodation. In such a case the court must be satisfied that only a secure remand would protect the public from serious harm from him or her or that only a secure remand would be adequate to prevent the commission of further imprisonable offences by him or her.
We have also made an order which brings into force Sections 131 and 132 of the same Act which allow courts to tag 12 to 16 year-olds while on bail or on remand to local authority accommodation. This will increase the number of options available to the courts for dealing with children and young people who repeatedly offend while on bail as an alternative to custody. It will come into force on 22 April 2002 in the 10 street-crime areas listed above, plus Northumbria, and in the rest of the country on 1 June 2002.
Courthouse Closures
Baroness Byford asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Further to the Written Answer by Mr Wills, Parliamentary Secretary at the Lord Chancellor's Department, on 7 March (HC Deb, 407W), how many and which of the courthouses closed are more than 10 miles away from the nearest operational courthouse.[HL3614]
The Lord Chancellor (Lord Irvine of Lairg): I attach a table which sets out the courthouses listed in the Answer of 7 March (HC Deb, 407W) and whether they
were more than 10 miles away from the nearest operational courthouse.However, further information on courthouse closures has been received from the magistrates' courts committees since that Answer and there were five courthouses of which my department had not been informed previously. I have therefore added those closures to the attached list and identified them.
The Government's policy is that decisions on the number and location of magistrates' courts in England and Wales are for the individual magistrates' courts committees to determine, in consultation with their local paying authority. In addition, the magistrates' courts committees are not statutorily required required to inform the Lord Chancellor's Department of proposed courthouse closures. [Note "+" has been used to mark the entries that are new and ("*") has been used to mark the closure dates that have changed 1 ]
| MCC | Magistrates' Courthouse | Closure Date | More than 10 miles | |
| Bedfordshire | Apmthill | 01 Jan 00 | ||
| Bedfordshire | Biggleswade | 01 Jan 00 | Y | |
| Bedfordshire | Dunstable | 01 Jan 00 | ||
| Bedfordshire | Leighton Buzzard | 01 Jan 00 | Y | |
| Cambridgeshire | March | *31 Dec 98 | Y | |
| Cambridgeshire* | Newmarket | 31 Dec 98 | ||
| Cheshire | Warrington Patten Hall | 01 Apr 01 | Previously incorrectly listed as both Warrington Patten Hall and Worcester | |
| Cheshire | Macclesfield Park Green | 01 Apr 01 | ||
| Cumbria | Appleby | 31 Mar 98 | ||
| Cumbria | Keswick | 30 Apr 00 | Y | |
| Cumbria | Appleby | 31 May 00 | Y | |
| Cumbria | Windermere | 31 May 00 | ||
| Cumbria | Wigton | 31 May 00 | Y | |
| Derbyshire | Alfreton | 01 Jan 01 | Y | |
| Derbyshire | Ashbourne | 01 Jan 01 | Y | |
| Derbyshire | Bakewell | 01 Jan 01 | Y | |
| Derbyshire | Matlock | 01 Jan 01 | ||
| Devon and Cornwall | Bideford | 30 Apr 01 | Y | |
| Devon and Cornwall | Exmouth | 30 Apr 01 | Y | |
| Devon and Cornwall | Kingsbridge | 30 Apr 01 | Y | |
| Devon and Cornwall | South Molton | 30 Apr 01 | Y | |
| Devon and Cornwall | Teignmouth | 30 Apr 01 | ||
| Devon and Cornwall | Tavistock | 30 Apr 01 | Y | |
| Devon and Cornwall | Axminster | 04 May 01 | ||
| Devon and Cornwall | Tiverton | 04 May 01 | Y | |
| Devon and Cornwall | Newquay | 30 Jun 01 | Y | |
| Devon and Cornwall | Womborne | 31 Aug 01 | ||
| Dorset | Christchurch | 31 Mar 99 | ||
| Dorset | Gillingham | 30 Sep 01 | Y | |
| Durham | Barnard Castle | 31 Dec 98 | Y | |
| Essex | Braintree | 31 Dec 97 | ||
| Essex | Clacton on Sea | *31 Oct 97 | Y | |
| Essex | Saffron Walden | *31 Dec 98 | Y | |
| Gloucestershire | Stow on the Wold | 30 Jun 99 | Y | |
| Greater London | Marlborough Street | 31 Mar 98 | ||
| Greater London | Clerkenwell | 31 Dec 98 | ||
| Greater Manchester | Ashton under Lyne (Manchester Road) | 31 Aug 97 | ||
| Greater Manchester | Duckinsfield | 31 Aug 97 | ||
| Greater Manchester | Leigh | 31 Mar 01 | ||
| Greater Manchester | Middleton | 31 Mar 01 | ||
| Gwent | Bargoed | *31 Dec 97 | ||
| Gwent | Monmouth | *31 Dec 97 | Y | |
| Gwent | Pontlottyn | *31 Dec 97 | ||
| Gwent | Pontypool | *31 Dec 97 | ||
| Hampshire & Isle of Wight | Southampton (Commerical Road) | 31 Aug 01 | ||
| Hertfordshire | Bishop's Stortford | 31 Mar 98 | Y | |
| Hertfordshire | Hatfield | 31 Mar 98 | ||
| Hertfordshire | Hitchin | 31 Mar 98 | ||
| Humberside | Bridlington | 09 Nov 01 | ||
| Humberside | Brough | 09 Nov 01 | Y | |
| Humberside | Driffield | 09 Nov 01 | Y | |
| Humberside | Hull (Guildhall) | 09 Nov 01 | ||
| Humberside | Hull (Lowgate) | 09 Nov 01 | ||
| Humberside | Pocklington | 09 Nov 01 | Y | |
| Humberside | Withernsea | 09 Nov 01 | Y | |
| Kent | Sheerness | 31 Dec 98 | Y | |
| Kent | West Malling | 31 Dec 98 | ||
| Kent | Gravesend | 09 Jun 00 | ||
| Lancashire | Lytham | 31 Dec 98 | ||
| Leicestershire | Lutterworth | 31 Jul 98 | Y | |
| Lincolnshire | Market Rasen | 31 Mar 98 | ||
| Norfolk | Diss | 31 Dec 98 | Y | |
| North Wales | Corwen | 31 Dec 98 | Y | |
| North Wales | Abergele | 31 Dec 00 | ||
| North Yorkshire | Stokesley | 31 Dec 97 | Y | |
| North Yorkshire | Malton | 06 Feb 98 | ||
| North Yorkshire | Ripon | 01 Aug 98 | Y | |
| Northumbria | Hebburn | 05 Jun 97 | ||
| Northumbria | South Shields (Kepple Street) | 05 Jun 97 | ||
| South Wales | Pontawade+ | 09 Oct 97 | ||
| South Yorkshire | Thorne | 31 Aug 97 | Y | |
| Staffordshire | Lichfield | 31 Mar 00 | ||
| Staffordshire | Leek | 31 Mar 01 | Y | |
| Staffordshire | Womborne+ | 01 Sep 01 | Y | |
| Suffolk | Felixstowe | 31 Dec 98 | Y | |
| Suffolk | Haverhill | 31 Dec 98 | Y | |
| Suffolk | Saxmundham | 31 Dec 98 | Y | |
| Suffolk | Stowmarket | 31 Dec 98 | Y | |
| Surrey | Chertsey | 31 Mar 98 | ||
| Surrey | Farnham | 31 Mar 98 | Y | |
| Surrey | Oxted | 31 Mar 98 | Y | |
| Sussex | Arundel+ | 01 Dec 01 | ||
| Thames Valley | Abingdon | 31 Mar 99 | ||
| Thames Valley | Henley on Thames | 31 Mar 99 | ||
| Thames Valley | Windsor | 31 Mar 99 | ||
| West Mercia | Bromsgrove | 31 May 97 | ||
| West Mercia | Bridgenorth+ | 31 Jan 02 | Y | |
| West Mercia | Leominster+ | 31 Jan 01 | Y | |
| West Mercia | Ledbury | 31 May 97 | ||
| West Yorkshire | Morley | 31 Mar 99 | ||
| West Yorkshire | Pudsey | 31 Mar 99 | ||
| West Yorkshire | Keighley | 01 Apr 00 | ||
| Wiltshire | Chippenham (Market Place) | 30 Jun 97 | ||
| Wiltshire | Wootton Bassett | 2 Oct 00 |
+ Where a court have been added.
* Where information changed.
Next Section
Back to Table of Contents
Lords Hansard Home Page